Ion-chromatographic selectivity of polyelectrolyte sorbents based on some aliphatic and aromatic ionenes

An aliphatic ionene with hydroxyl group (2HP-8 ionene), mixed aliphatic–aromatic ionenes (3-X and 6-X ionenes), aromatic ionene (Ph-X ionene), and viologen (Dp-X ionene) – polymers with quaternary nitrogen atoms in the main chain – served as modifiers in synthesising polyelectrolyte sorbents for ion chromatography. The selectivity of produced and several previously prepared anion exchangers was compared with those of aliphatic ionenes. It was found that aromatic ionenes having a rigid structure of polymer chains are similar to their aliphatic analogues with shorter chains with a high charge density. Polyelectrolyte sorbents based on aromatic ionenes show higher selectivity to aromatic acids (e.g., 1-naphthalenesulfonic acid) as compared with aliphatic ionenes due to specific π–π interactions.